Juliet

I've never published an interview before so this is gonna take some adjusting. I've decided to start with this one and I hope you guys are excited to be finding out about everybody I will be interviewing!

Date: 17.10.2020
Queen Urikhos (Q.U)-
Juliet (J.H)- Tambov, Russia

Q.U: What do you like about where you grew up?
J.H: I’m about family. No social life, really. I didn’t grow up in one place, I moved all over Namibia basically. I lived in Walvisbay for four years before I moved to Windhoek to go study. Even before that lived in Swakopmund for four years, so I haven't had a stable place where I have lived for a period of more than 10 years. I got more siblings along the way and the family got closer. Some of my favorite memories are when it was holiday. I miss family gatherings. In Kalkfeld I would visit my great grand parents for the December holidays. All their grandchildren would go there during that time. I remember my uncle had a computer, those ones with a big behind and the whole family would gather in front of the little cinema and just have a good time. There was always food, when one pot was empty, the next one was filled. I appreciated my grandad, he would sit on his knees and pretend to be a goat, play with us and give us extra sweets and so on.

Q.U: Tell us about your typical day when you were in high school?
J.H: *let me see if I can remember this, a few years have gone by, laughs* I would wake up around 6 (but actually 6:30) eat, and then get ready for school which started at 7:30. We took a cab to school, because we had a monthly cab that would take us to school and pick us up. So I would get to school and then go to classes, have break and then go home. It depended on how early the cab would come. One day I had to wait until 5PM, so even if I was done early, I had to be at school for a while. My routine was the same, I hardly did homework at home, then I would clean-up and make me something to eat. If I felt like being a good student somedays, I would do my homework.

Q.U: How connected are you to your environment?
J.H: I’m currently in Russia and the more I have been here, the more I feel like I am getting connected to my environment, the more comfortable I am getting. At first I didn't make a big deal out of it but I am slowly starting to feel out of place because somedays I was the only black person on the bus- at first it didn't bother me- I would say I was a tourist attraction-especially when I had my hair out and everybody would just stare. There were days I was very uncomfortable and cried through most of my first year- it was very difficult because I don't adapt to new places easily. Now I have sort of gotten used to the system but home will always be home, that's where my heart is. *we started talking about how we miss home and how we miss family*

Q.U: How often do you use social media and what effect does it have on your life? Does it disrupt your studies? Does it make you think differently about your body or do you only use it for pure entertainment?
J.H: I use it a lot, firstly, my school uses Facebook to communicate. And honestly, the time I spend on Instagram I could've been doing something productive- that's why I always delete my account when I realize that it's getting too much. Social media does not really disrupt my studies because I am self-disciplined, plus I use apps that track how much time I spend on social media, which do help help. Social media does can be good too, it helped me fall in love with my natural hair- I realized that every curl is made to perfection. Also, I've never had a positive body image and I guess social media played a role in that.

Q.U: What is special about your name, if anything?
J.H: My mom told me dad wanted a baby boy which was to be named Romeo, but I was born a girl, so they named me Juliet. My father's name is Rio, so they added another name to it, making it Rhiona. All my sisters are daddy’s girls and their names connected to my dad’s. All of us have names that start with Rio- so we have a connection. I read somewhere that Juliet means beautiful flower, but I'm not sure about that.

Q.U What type of music do you listen to? A little bit of this and a little bit of that. Top three songs would be- firstly, a spontaneous worship song by Jeremih Riddles, Holy. Number two would be Beyoncé's Freedom because it's empowering- reminds me not to quit on myself because I can do it. The next sing is one that I don't listen to everyday, but one I will forever love, its Rescuer by Rend Collective.

Q.U: What kinds of places do you go on holiday, or would you like to go?
I like to go to places where I can be free, where I can be myself. Like when I go back to my father's house or the farm. I also love going to places where I get new experiences like last holiday when I went to St. Petersburg with one of my friends. I enjoyed the museums and historical places, how beautiful everything was. I appreciated the architecture as well.

Q.U: What is your favorite dish? Is it connected to your nationality?
J.H: Honestly, I’m a foodie. I don't have a favorite dish. If we were to go to a restaurant I would order a burger. In Namibia, I often miss 'dai-mai' or anything my grandmother cooks. Because that lady just knows how to cook, especially on Sundays when its the 'sondagkos', with that plate of potato salad, homecooked meat - basically any homecooked meal- favorably cooked in my grandmother's kitchen.

Q.U: Can you imagine yourself living in the opposite part of the world?
J.H In Russia right now I am just on my own, watching a series, lonely and it's quiet. Back home, I would also probably be watching a movie or something but I would be absent-minded because my brother would be dancing in the background, my sister would be shouting, my mom would probably be insulting someone's child and so on. It's quiet here, whilst back home it would be noisy and there would be movement. People here just keep to themselves, you don't hear somebody shouting over the fence, "give me sugar, go buy some sugar or give me N$1."

Question 10. What is the last thing you bought today?
J.H: A can of coke, I've had a busy day.

Q.U: . Can you think of something you are not sure about but would have done if you had the chance to? It could be a career path, performing at a club, moving abroad or anything?
J.H: Probably be a model, because you know, short girls are not well represented in the modelling industry. Something else I would have done if I had the opportunity would be giving food to homeless people, toiletries and so on. Right now I am also being supported by my dad so there is no way I can support somebody else.

Q.U: Do you really think that one day people will just be people? That we will look past skin color, race or whatsoever and live together?
J.H: I hope so, but I honestly don’t think that is possible. Even the kids being born now, are being influenced by their parents and that will go on and on. I don't think it will ever end, people are still being discriminated because of their skin color. In Namibia, there is racism, or privilege right in front of our eyes. I can just think of the coloreds and the light skins at my school and how during modelling competitions, only the light skins and the basters would be chosen, even if a darker girl was a better model. And its even us discriminating ourselves, like a security guard at a hotel who dropped the black guests luggage on the spot to attend to the white guests that had arrived. Just think of a poor white guy roaming the streets of Katutura, he will receive special treatment, because he's white. How all good things are assumed to be associated with being white- that's the mentality.

Q.U: About your career, do you already have in mind what you want to do or are you just getting by?
J.H: I have a lot in mind. Being a doctor is something I have always dreamed of, it started when I was small. My dad asked me what I wanted to become and I said I wanted to be a doctor. I remember I would go to doctor's offices and see what their offices looked like. I would imagine myself being one of them. I don't even know what I'm going to specialize in, but it will be something and I will open my own practice. One thing I am afraid of though, is being so sure of what you want to be from your childhood and once you get there, it's not all you imagined it to be. Or like how God would show you that's not where you are supposed to be and there's a whole change.

Q.U: What can be said about you based on your style?
J.H: 80% of the time I am dressed like a tomboy with a hoodie and jeans- that's my everyday style. There are days I feel girly so I put on my little dress and flaunt it. Some people have told me I look South African because I'm light in complexion. Some see me as

intimidating and others apparently think that I'm cool.

Q.U: When was the first time you got your first phone. Do you remember what it was? It was a 'katorch'- a Samsung. The year was, 2010. *spoke about how we used our first phones* What amazes me is how, almost all of us, went through or did the same thing. In that moment you thought you were the only one, but there was people before you and others will come repeat.

Bonus: Fun fact about you?
J.H: *laughs* I hate talking about myself. But, I can say I’m a determined person, I don't give up that easily. I didn't have enough points in grade 12 but my kept going and this is where I have ended up. It taught me how to lift myself up and be strong. Its easy to stir up a conversation with me. I cry a lot and take pride in that because its a way of letting go of everything and gives that relieve that you don't get from just talking about something. I'm a third year medical student, which also makes me the first in my family to get this far.

That was the end of our interview, do stay tuned for the next seven or so interviews!

love, Queen

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